I'm guessing most on here will tell you to upgrade the wheels, but I'd recommend getting a Power Meter, and crank based at that. That's if you want to become a faster rider. I ride with plenty of cat 1/2 riders and can tell you it's not the bike that makes one faster. If you were to get a quark you'd still have plenty left over to either upgrade the rest of the components to something like Red or find a nice used lighter weight wheelset. Whatever you do I'd suggest shopping through the classifieds here and other sites and ebay. You can get quite a bit with your budget if you shop wisely.

I'm guessing most on here will tell you to upgrade the wheels, but I'd recommend getting a Power Meter, and crank based at that. That's if you want to become a faster rider. I ride with plenty of cat 1/2 riders and can tell you it's not the bike that makes one faster.

The difference in speed between Lance Armstrong and me is not just due to PEDs and Power Meter.

How do the hub-type power meters differ from cranks?It would be cool to be able to use on both bikes.alsoI dont even know what size BB this bike is, i know it has 105 hollowtech 2 cranks but i only see quarq's for bb30

If you want to geek out on your bike, you could go with a power meter. I like your idea of the 3.4 build a bit more though. It would add some aerodynamic prowess, and it would make you stoked to ride your bike again. That would be a HUGE upgrade from the Mavics you are currently on.

As a guy with both (i) SRM power meters on both of my road bikes, (iii) FSA plasma and Zipp cockpits, (iii) SRAM Red on both bikes and (iv) a set of Enve 6.7s (and a set of 3.4s that will follow in the next couple months), I would answer your question like this:

If you just want to enjoy your bike, be a little more comfortable, have it "feel" a little nicer, spend the money on cockpit and components. You won't get any speed increase, but you just might enjoy your bike a little more.

If you want to buy "free" speed, just be able to slap something on your bike and immediately go faster, spend the money on wheels. Consider 6.7s if your riding is all-around, or go with the 3.4s if you're always in the mountains or very light and concerned with crosswinds (though the 6.7s handle crosswinds better than old-style 45mm rims).

If you're looking for the most bang-for-your-buck AND are willing to train in something of a structured manner and listen to what the power meter tells you (there's nothing wrong if that's not for you - maybe you just want to hop on the bike and ride and you're not a racer, etc), then go with the power meter.

The nice thing about the power meter is that the fitness it will help you achieve will translate to any bike that you ride... aero/non-aero bike/frame... light/heavy bike... road/mountain/TT... you name it.

A recreational cyclist who rides along at 200W or so could, with a power meter and some intelligent training, get to 250W in fairly short order. There simply is no combination of equipment or wheels that can do the same.

I own a Felt Z5 full 105 with full carbon fork rolling on 2005 ksyrium elites

Everything on that bike is fairly low end... ie all the parts suit each other. If you buy some top end parts this will no longer be the case and it will be sort of a mishmash... with a cheapish frame at the center of it all. Do you know what the frame/fork weighs?

The PM probably makes the most sense... that is if you even want and will use a PM. If not, it would be a waste of money.

+1 on an SRM. You will be able to transport that to another bike when it is time. If you buy a used, wired SRM, you will also be able to buy a nice set of little-used deep carbon race wheels from some Tri-guy for that money. It is usually cheaper to buy frame and group set together.

Could he not get a set of 3.4's build with a powertap hub? Or would that be too much of a compromise?

Yeah I guess this is doable. I have never really been a fan of Powertaps though. They seem to be quite a bit more finicky than the SRM and the flange spacing isn't ideal either which makes it hard to build them up to be very stiff.

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